Sponsorship and Funding Opportunities
Applications are open for the 2025-2026 academic year.
The Humanities Collaborative is pleased to support research and creative activities in the arts and humanities, including visiting speakers, events, and experiential learning opportunities for faculty, staff, and students at the University of South Carolina. Funds can cover a variety of project expenses and materials, such as: speaker honoraria and travel costs, rental and equipment fees, books, printing, and university-approved food and faculty meals with guests.
Tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty and staff at USC-Columbia are eligible to request funding. Requests will be accepted throughout the year, pending availability of funds. Applicants are encouraged to submit requests at least two months in advance of event. Decisions make take up to two weeks, and are based on need and merit in supporting the mission of the Humanities Collaborative.
Research and Creative Working Groups
Applications are closed for the 2025-2026 academic year. New applications will be accepted March 15-April 15.
Each year, the Humanities Collaborative will fund a number of working groups that bring USC faculty and graduate students together to focus on a variety of interdisciplinary topics and intellectual questions related to the arts and humanities. Participants initiate public, critical, creative, or digital humanities projects, pursue grant funding, and sponsor programming that serves the entire campus and communities across the state.
Tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty at USC-Columbia are eligible to propose and lead groups. Funding is available up to $3,000, contingent on proposed programming and planned outcomes.
Groups should meet the following criteria:
- include at least five faculty and/or graduate student members;
- include faculty members from two or more department/units (including system
campuses); - plan at least one open/public event that involves the campus-wide community,
- graduate or undergraduate students, and/or the general public;
- allow for a critical engagement with or expansion of the humanities as it might be traditionally understood.
Museum Learning Program
Applications are closed for the 2025-2026 academic year. New applications will be accepted March 15-April 15.
The Museum Learning Program allows selected faculty to use materials from the Columbia Museum of Art (CMA) collection in their classes. Students will have access to the CMA for a full year, so this program ideally seeks to introduce students to the CMA in a way that will carry beyond a particular tour or project, and is designed to extend learning beyond the classroom.
Tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty at USC-Columbia are eligible to apply for the Museum Learning Program. Applicants will be asked to submit a proposal that explains how their course will use CMA collections, along with projected course enrollment.
Additional Opportunities
Throughout the year, the Humanities Collaborative hosts seminar series, book discussions, digital humanities workshops, and new faculty publication celebrations. If you have a suggestion for a speaker or colloquium idea, please email us.